Alice Waters

“My mother made a lot of things because she thought they'd be healthy for us. There were some very unfortunate experiences with whole wheat bread and bananas. I always tried to get rid of that sandwich and eat one of my friends' lunches.”

“Grass-fed cattle are leaner. But it's not true that they are less flavorful.”

“I really am at a place where I think we need to feed every child at school for free and feed them a real school lunch that's sustainable and nutritious and delicious. It needs to be part of the curriculum of the school in the same way that physical education was part of the curriculum, and all children participated.”

“I wanted people to come to the restaurant and feel at home, so I put it in a house.”

“I try not to do anything that's immoral.”

“I'm unwilling to eat food that has been adulterated.”

“I know once people get connected to real food, they never change back.”

“I used to think that I wanted to be a hat maker, but I don't think that would have worked out.”

“I eat meat, but no meat that isn't pastured is acceptable, and we probably need to eat a whole lot less.”

“Usually, cheap food is not nutritious. You're feeding people, but you're not really feeding people something that is good for them.”

“Basically, the person in the White House should be principled, should have a philosophy about food that relates directly to organic agriculture. I will continue to push for that.”

“I really appreciate the many neighbourhoods of Berkeley. There is still the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. And it has the University of California, which is the greatest gift, to my mind, to be close to it. It keeps the place alive.”

“When you don't have much money, cooking can be incredibly reassuring. You feel like you're doing meaningful work.”

“I do feel like food should cost more, because we aren't paying farmers a living wage. It has to cost more.”

“Food isn't like anything else. It's something precious. It's not a commodity.”

“Whenever I want to know how to cook something, I can't ask one chef - I have to ask six.”

“A whole set of values comes with fast food: Everything should be fast, cheap and easy; there's always more where that came from; there are no seasons; you shouldn't be paid very much for preparing food. It's uniformity and a lack of connection.”

“We've been so disconnected agriculturally and culturally from food. We spend more time on dieting than on cooking.”

“I'm always changing my work, as there are endless ways to think about food.”

“I can remember the three restaurant experiences of my childhood. All I wanted to do on my birthday was to go to the Automat in New York... but I don't know if you consider that a real restaurant.”